Rebel's Conspiracy
by Samino Chene
Summary: Welcome to the 110th Hunger Games. Katniss is gone, but Prim is not. She has lived to have a daughter named Airilee. But what Katniss died to soon for may be in store for Airilee. Will the rebel's sacrafice her for their own need?
1. Chapter 1 : Talking

Preface

I went into the forest for the first time when I was eight. On my mother's orders, Uncle Gale took me past the fence that protects my district and taught me how to fight, how to hunt, and how to use a bow and arrow, though I'm much better with knives. I felt uneasy about the whole experience.

My mother is extremely opposed to violence. That's why our T.V. is never on. The Capitol only televises previous games.

I heard my aunt was chosen to be in the games once. I didn't even know I had an aunt, so I suppose she didn't win. I wonder what she was like when she was alive. I wonder if she was like my mother, fair and wide eyed. I wonder, more than anything, if she would have been proud of me.

Chapter One

I wake up in the middle of the bed in a cold sweat, gulping the air in relief that I had only been dreaming a second ago. Taking the lumpy pillow from under my head, I cover my face, hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep before the day starts. I can't seem to shake the dream, though. I'd never dreamt of anything that horrific, before. Not psychologically, but possibly the most primal terror that exists. It was a chasing dream, a running dream, a pack of dogs on my heels, froth bubbling from their bared teeth. I didn't even flinch. I let them attack me, let my flesh be torn off in strips, didn't cry out. But I don't know why. I felt like I was protecting someone. No one else was there, though. Just one suicidal me.

I open my eyes under the pillow, observing its beige canvas surface. It has a few holes about the size of a dime or nickel, but I like this pillow. I've had it my entire life. It may be a tad simplistic of me, but in District 12, one gets used to it. Out of all the districts in the country of Panem, this one is the most neglected. The proof is everywhere. From the run down shops, to the electric fence that's on only two or three hours a day, and that's at a maximum. Not to mention all the people who can barely feed themselves. I see them every day. Their bodies show the obvious signs of hunger, sunken eyes, hollow cheek bones, and emaciated frames. I've wanted to help them, but can't I risk having my own family starve. What exactly could I do, anyway? Even the Capitol can't help them. It tears at me, but I walk past starving families every day, only to come home to just enough, never an excess.

Propping myself on a bony elbow, I look around the basement of a house my family lives in. With the light coming between the cracks in the blinds that cover the only window, I can see my mother still lying in the other bed, alone. Dad must have left to go hunt without me. My father, along with most of the other district 12 citizens, works in the coal mine from Monday to Saturday. Since he's working, I hunt without him. Sundays are different. We usually hunt together, along with my uncle occasionally. It's Reaping day, though, so he likely wanted to let me sleep in. I'll just have to meet him in the woods.

I shift over to the side of the bed and sit up farther. I should probably eat some breakfast, but I don't know if there was enough food from the previous night to feed both me and my mom. The ache of hunger is nothing foreign, and no worse than usual this morning. I stand up and quickly stretch out my back before going to the even smaller kitchen to check on the food. I can tell something's different when I see the fresh loaf of bread on the counter. I can never resist fresh baked bread from the bakery, and tear a few chunks off at a time, letting my desire get away from me. It takes me a few minutes before I realize that my mom has to eat too. I set what's left of the loaf down, and go back into the main room to get dressed. I quickly slip on a comfy pair of pants and a soft tunic before pulling on my worn leather boots. There's nothing like preparing for a hunt. I always get that tingling feeling of fright and excitement that I got my first time in the woods. My hand automatically goes to the small scar on my jaw. That first time I was out, I was looking around so much for danger that I missed the rock right in front of me, and tripped. Uncle Gale says that that was his shortest hunting trip ever, because he had to immediately take me back to my mother for stitches and what was left of our antiseptic.

Before I walk out the front door, I pause and look at myself in the cracked full body mirror next to the closet. My long black hair hung like a curtain around my olive tinted face, and my watery blue eyes stuck out. In the Seam, people usually have olive toned skin, black hair, and grey eyes. I get my eyes from my mother, who has a merchant child's look; long, golden hair, porcelain complexion, and blue eyes. Though her mom lived in the Seam, too, she was once a merchant's child. The reason my grandmother decided to move to the Seam was because she fell in love with a miner. As a result she had to give up her apothecary shop, the family business. She still gives out medical aid when she can, and my mom always helps her.

My mother's currently in the process of trying to teach me hypothecary, along with my grandmother's help. They have this rather large book of plants that have medical uses. It's been passed down through the family, and added to by each member. The going's been rough, but I've faired well so far. Especially the section on edible plants. I don't know when I will need the medical plants, but every time I hunt I always look for the edible ones. It's always a joy to have some green in our meal.

Satisfied with what I see, I walk to the door and open it. I slip through soundlessly, but before I can close it, it her a hoarse croak form the corner.

"Airilee-," my mom had woken up. "Airilee, be careful. I'd hate it if anything happened to you."

I walked back inside and sat next to her on the bed. "Nothing ever happens to me mom. You know this. I'm more careful than anything."

"I know. I just worry about you. You are my only child after all. What were I to do without you?" Her eyes held sadness. Something that went deeper than just me.

"It's okay mom. I know you worry about me, but I worry about you too. You're always cooped up in this house studying things that I wouldn't think twice about. That can't be good for ones health." I softly rub her shoulder and looked sternly into her eyes. I want her to know that I'm not that same clumsy child that walked into the woods seven years ago. I've grown quite rapidly and haul a fairly large load of the family weight, despite the fact that I'm only 15.

"Sometimes the worst thing to forget is the one that you barely looked at in the first place." I was taken aback by what she said. My mother had never sounded so mature, and I couldn't help but be proud of her. Despite this, I kept my face in the same expression of worry as I stood up, and walked back to the door. I wouldn't let her win.

"There's bread in the kitchen," I said as I close the door. I felt horrible as soon as I closed the door. Why do I always have to let my temper get the best of me? It's always been one of my major faults. It's one of the rare things that my dad hates too. He can't stand it when I get angry, and kicks me out of the house till my temper wears off, which doesn't take long. The thing is, I always want to win, and if anyone even comes close to beating me, at anything, I lose it. I find it hard to not hit that person when I do.

I walk down the sidewalk soundlessly. The world seems frozen. The streets have a thin layer of coal dust. The buildings are coated with it, making their already grey surface blotchy and black, like a disease that's spread through the city. There is no wind to disturb the dust and litter sprawling the streets. No sound to draw your attention away from the city's dilapidated state. Everything here seems to be designed to kill my spirit. To transform me into a nothing that obeys all orders given. Yeah right.

I slowly make my way to the field that holds the closest hole in the fence. I make sure to walk right next to the black criss-crossed steel that's some twenty feet high to avoid eyes that may be watching but it's pointless. Not even the peacekeepers care if people hunt. They buy our food on certain days, and that's why my family can get away with hunting. A person in another district would be punished with death for what we do every day. _How lucky for us,_ I think sarcastically.

As I come to the whole in the fence, I pause and listen. The tell tale buzz of electricity running through the fence isn't making an appearance today, so it's safe to go through. I drop to the floor and pull my self under, along with the bag that I keep game in. As I pop back up on the other side, I can see my dad waiting for me. In a tree no less. His red tunic sticks out among the green. Underneath that, he's wearing dark brown pants, and his old hunting boots. They're light yellow, but from the years of mining, they've turned dark brown. This is an odd outfit to wear to the woods. He sticks out like a sore thumb.

I walk closer to him, and he begins to climb down

"Hey, no! Let me climb up there. I've been dying to show you this trick I've been working on. I saw a tribute from a previous game doing it, and it was so cool."

"You were watching the games? How could you do that Airilee? Your mother hates them, and you know that." His face is set in anger, and I'm utterly confused.

"But, you wanted me-" his frown melts into a smile. "How could you do that to me? Gosh! Sometimes dad, you're really annoying.

"Hey, you're the one who falls for it."

"And then I get you back. Don't forget that."

"I know, I know. Come on lets take a walk."

"But not before I show you that trick,"

"Okay, show me." I make my way up his tree, and look around. My sights land on a branch from a nearby tree. I looks thick enough. I crouch down on the branch I'm currently on, and in one motion, I hurl myself over to the other one. My legs curl into the branch as I land, transferring the motion into the branch, before I stand up again. I look back and smile at my dad, who by now is on the ground. "Tell me that was amazing."

"That was so amazing, now lets go. Remember, we only have three hours before the reaping begins." At his orders I quickly climb down, and follow him deeper into the woods. After a minute, I realize we have already passed the log that hided our weapons. It doesn't matter. I can defend myself without them too.

My mind wanders as I follow my dad to no place in particular. What on Earth could he want to talk about. It's not like this is my first reaping. I know how this will play out. A girl and a boy between 12 and 18 years old will have their names called by the person who represents our district. Their families will cry in horror that their child is being sent to their death, and everyone will try to console them without success. I've seen it many times before. Our district children always lose, so there's no chance that they'll come back. They will then be thrown into a completely unknown arena to fight the children from the other eleven districts to the death. Last one standing wins, and they're usually the kids from district 1, 2, or 4. In those district, children train for the games. They don't care about what they do in the arena. They only want the wealth winning brings them. They make me sick.

I didn't realize my dad had stopped until I ran flat into his back.

"Sorry," I tell him as I rub my sore nose.

"No, it's okay." he replies.

"So, now that we're here, what do you want to talk about?" When he turns around, there are tears spilling from his eyes. "Are you-"

"They're going to call your name."

**-x**

**Whoa, didn't see that one coming, did we Airilee? Poor girl. All caught up in some conspiracy.**

_This Update's Question-_ How many times have you read The Hunger Games?


	2. Chapter 2: Conspiracy

**Conspiracy**

The ground blurs into nothing beneath my feet as I run. I've always been fast. Ever since I was young. The other kids would fall far behind me in races, never being able to catch up. Not even my best friend, Deliah Jaines, could keep up, and she's fairly fast herself.

In no time at all I've made it back to the fence. Without pause, I throw myself down and crawl through. Crawling isn't fast enough. I need to go faster. If I can go fast enough, maybe I can out run my problems. No. I learned a long time ago that I couldn't, but I need something to keep me anchored to sanity as I make my way back to my house. _Keep running_, I tell myself. No one can catch you if you keep running. It's still a lie, but it calms me somehow.

My house isn't too far from the hole in the fence, just a few blocks away, but I can run for mile more, and then some. I round the last corner and see my house. I can also see the district's square, where they're setting up for the reaping. My reaping.

I slam the door to my house open in a way that would make anyone within a ten mile radius jump. I'm not in the mood to be nice, so they'll have to deal with it. I find my mother in the kitchen, clutching the bread that I had been eating off of earlier. When she looks up, I can see her face is streaked with tears.

"Did you know!" I scream very loudly at her. She drops the bread in surprise. "You knew, didn't you. This whole time!" I am beyond anger, and my voice rises even more, which is impossible in any other circumstance. I don't care who hears, though. She deserves the embarrassment. "Why would you do this to me! Kill your own daughter for what? Money? Do you want money more than me?" I'm fuming, and she seems to shocked to answer. "SAY SOMETHING!"

Her mouth opens but no sound comes out. She looks as though she's being strangled as she searches for the right words, but the silence continues. She makes me sick. All of them do. How a woman with such a pretty name like Primrose can be so devious as to trade her daughter's life for fortune mystifies me.

When she finally says something it's the pitiful three words that every child says when they're being scolded by their parents. "I don't know." That's it. The answer to all my problems is _I don't know_. I want to yell some very obscure words at her, but I restrain myself. I muster up the words _I hate you instead_, and decide they're perfect.

"I hate you. You're no mother. You're a monster. I hope I die because of you," at this, I run out the house. I don not want _her_ to see me cry. I turn a corner and see my father sprinting towards me. He'll only try to calm me down, inevitably making me angrier. I turn on my heels, and head the other way.

The next street proves deserted as I stamp across the pavement. I just need a nice, deserted house to cry behind and I'll be okay. As long as no one sees me, I'll be just fine.

I make my way across the town to the far end of town, opposite my house. This is the wealthier half of the district, where Deliah lives. I like Deliah because she's not like everyone else. She's always smiling the kind of smile that makes you smile as well. She may be better off, but she has a humble attitude. I remember the first day of kindergarten when I met her. We had an instant connection, despite the fact that we were complete opposites, appearance wise. Her long, wavy, golden locks trumped my straight black hair. We had the same, blue, eyes, but her skin was a lot like my mother's. Porcelain and clear. I've always wanted that skin tone, but I'm stuck with the olive appearance I inherited from my father.

I find my way back to the fence surrounding the district. I've run out of room, so it's time to start looking for an abandoned house. No doubt, my father will be looking for me by now. Him, or my uncle, or someone, but I know how to hide from them. If they're stupid enough to sell my life, they'll be stupid enough to not look up a tree.

Eventually, I'll have to climb down because it's against capital law and punishable by death if one doesn't attend the Reaping. It begins at 11:30, and it's 9:00 now, so I'll have plenty of time to finish up, then find a dress to wear. The capital makes us districts treat the Reaping as an event every year, so we also have to dress up. I can't go back to my house now, so I'll have to get another from somewhere else.

"Maybe Deliah will lone me one," I say out loud to myself.

"I will lone you what now?" I look down to see Deliah with a smile on her face. Her smile falters when she sees my tear streaked face though. "Airi, are you okay? You look like you've been crying for hours," She makes her way up the tree and sits next to me.

"It's a long story, Deliah," My voice cracks on the last syllable and another round of sobs leave my throat. Deliah pulls me closer to her in a hug, and tries to effortlessly get me to calm down. It's no use though. I'm a mess, and no one can fix that.

"Come on, you can explain it to me on the way back to my house. You need to be cleaned up before the Reaping and I won't have you looking like a mess next to me," Her words are intended to make me laugh, and a haggard half, chuckle half sob escapes me without permission.

As we make our way back to her house, which isn't far, I fill her in on the details of my morning. I finish with a heavy sigh, waiting for her to respond, but she just stares at me.

"Well?"

"Are you sure you didn't misunderstand them?" she asks me.

"No way, no how," I reply, matter of factly.

"Harsh. What if it's not for the reason you think? Like, what if they're doing it for some other purpose, or the capital is making them. What if the whole thing is just one big plot, and the gamemakers have already decided who's going to win?"

"I guess, but my parents not telling me is not like them Why would they do that? I deserve to know. It's my life." she opens the door to her house and we walk in before she replies.

"There must be a really good reason why they didn't tell you, Airi. Why else would they lie?" this comforts me just the slightest. Deliah always knows what to say. "Mom! Airilee's coming over," her mother just nods from the kitchen, preparing her family's lunch as Deliah leads me to her room. "I've got _the_ perfect dress for you, Airilee, I tune out after my name, and sit down on her bed as she digs for the dress she's looking for in her closet. Why would my parents lie to me? The question gnaws at me as my friend searches her clothes.

After some time, she manages to produce a light blue dress. It does look quite gorgeous. She tosses it to me as she steps out.

"Call me when you're done changing," she walks out with a proud look on her face. She must think this dress will cheer me up. Once I have it on, I can see that it's better than I thought. The dress reaches my knees, and I can see several golden flowers growing from there. The gold of the flowers goes perfectly with the blue dress. The material bunches up around my hips, which gives me a smaller look, and the straps seem to be two inches thick, enough to show my shoulders, but not too revealing. The dress calls attention to my jet black hair hanging limply around my shoulders, and makes it look… healthier. Deliah was right. I do like this dress. This is the best that I've looked in a long time.

I look over to see Deliah standing in the corner of the room. She must have snuck in when I was admiring myself in the mirror.

"You look so beautiful, I just want to steal that dress away, but it won't look nearly as beautiful on me. Ooh, I'm so jealous!" I see that Deliah has also changed into her Reaping dress as well. Probably in the bathroom, since I was occupying her room. It suites her. The pale pink dress is simple in design, fading into a darker rose red as it flows to just above her knees.

"I love it, and yours too," I say in her general direction. I can't tear my eyes away from my image. How vain. Deliah actually has to come over and shake my shoulders for me to look away.

"You are so vain," Deliah echoes. "Sometimes I just want to slap you, Airi."

"What about all those times you were sweet talking your image in the mirror. I deserve something for that too, don't I?" I put on my best pleading face.

"Oh shut up," She says jokingly, throwing a shoe at me. "Lets just call it even." Our eyes meet for one second before we burst out laughing. I enjoy spending time with Deliah. It makes me feel like a real teenage girl. Not one that has to hunt for her family's food, and worry about them betraying me. We're just rubbing the tears from our eyes when the sound of a knock comes from the front door. We both run up to the door together, sticking our heads through the blinds, and see that it's my dad. "Oh crap! You stay here. I got it mom!" Deliah bolts down the hallway and shoves her mom away from the door in a joking manor. Her mom gives her a strange look, but doesn't question it. I retreat back to her room to hide before she opens the door. I press my ear to the door and listen to the conversation, but only catch wisps of it since she's all the way in the front room.

"_Forest… Reaping… mom… running… lost… worried," _That's all I can get from their conversation, so I give up and go back to the mirror. Sometime passes before Deliah returns, and when she does, it's with her brother Assaf.

"Is _that_ what took you so long?" I ask her. Assaf really isn't all that bad, but being Deliah best friend, I'm obligated to mock him. He has Blonde, curly hair, and his quite tall. There's this whole light atmosphere that surrounds him where ever he goes and makes it impossible to be anything but happy around him. He's good looking too. He's off limits though. That sucks. He's 16, only one year older than Deliah and I, and already helping out in Justice Building. Their father is the Mayor's brother and assistant.

"Yes, that _is _what took her so long. I heard what you were saying to Airilee's father too, Del. Tricking a man into thinking his daughter's not here is a definite no-no in most people's book," Assaf says in a joking manor that evokes a laugh from me. Deliah shots me a look that sends chills down my spine.

"Okay, big bro, time for you to get out. Oh, and don't forget to dress nicely for the reaping today. I won't have you make me look bad either," she laughs as she pushes him out the door.

"Like I could make anyone look bad. It's you that I'm worried about," she slams the door in his face, and laughs.

"The ego on that one. I swear," we share another laugh at this thought, then go to the living room. Deliah turns to me, "I'll do your hair if you do mine."

"Okay," I tell her. Deliah really brings out the girl in me. We sit on the old couch in Deliah's living room. "Braided?" I ask her.

"You know it. It's the best hair style ever," she coons. I agree because it basically the only hairstyle.

I take her hair and part it into three segments, then begin. At the end of the braid, I tie it off with a piece of ribbon I randomly found on the table beside the couch. I let out a chuckle because it doesn't match her outfit at all.

"What, what? Did you screw up or something?" She runs from the couch to the nearest mirror. I find her holding it up to herself in the kitchen. I laugh again.

"Thanks a lot Deliah," I tell her.

"For what?"

"For cheering me up. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You should figure it out soon if your dad really was telling the truth."

"I guess. Do you think I could do it?"

"What?"

"Win."

"Definitely." I look at her and smile.

"Thanks," I turn to her mother, who is stepping out of her room in a long, grey, gown.

"Come on children, we must be going if we want to make it in time," Her mother says. She looks around impatiently before yelling, "Assaf! Get out here!" Assaf comes bounding out of the bathroom at his name.

"Sorry, mom. I have to make sure I'm gorgeous. This could me my Reaping you know," he says it jokingly but his mom doesn't take it so lightly.

"Do _not_ joke about that Assaf. You will jinx this family! Now get out. We're going to be late," we spill out into the street with her shout.

Slowly, we make our way to the square where I see several roped off sections. That's where they separate the children depending on age. It helps the peacekeepers to prevent chaos in case some unlucky kid tries o run away. We split up when we reach the peace keepers who take our age, and escort us to our designated age groups. Deliah and I take our seats near the back of our section and look towards Assaf as he takes his seat as well. What ever happens today, I know they're going to call my name, along with some other unlucky boy. Maybe I'll be able to survive, but when I really think about it, I don't have a ghost of a chance. I know I'll die in the arena, and I know I'll never see anyone I love again. It's saddening to think about, but I won't go down without a fight. I'll make district 12 proud.

**-x**

_This Update's Question-_ If you could have one of the muttations in The Hunger Games as a pet, which would it be?


	3. Chapter 3: The Reaping

**Reaping**

My palms feel warm and sweaty. My forehead is slick with a cold sweat as well. I know my name is going to be called but I'm still nervous, somehow hoping my dad had been lying. I felt similar to this on my first reaping three years ago. The first one is always the hardest. I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my face, and I couldn't stop shaking either. They had to pry me from my father's side to get me to my designated section. I felt so terrified, but when the other girl's name was called, Aswan I think, I felt nothing but relief. If only for a second, because then I thought of the thousands of ways she would die in the arena. When she got on the stage, she looked three times as scared as I had been before.

I miss Aswan. I didn't know her, but I miss her. I always end up think of her every reaping. About how she would look now, her dark red curly hair, a rarity for district 12, would no doubt have been flattened for this Reaping as it was for her own. She would be happier, as would her family, if she were still here. Oh Aswan, I'm sorry.

Our mayor, Mayor Jaines, marches up on to the stage in an uncomfortable looking suit. From where I sit, it looked too small, squeezing him around the chest and thighs. One of the middle buttons looks like it would burst from his coat. It wasn't that he was too rotund, though he was a bit on the pudgy side, but just for the fact that the suit was too small. Perhaps his other suits are being cleaned. It seems unlikely.

He takes his place on behind the podium on the district's small stage that's only brought out for the Reaping. He clears his throat a few times before pulling out a piece of paper, then clears his throat once more, which annoys me to no end. I just want to scream _get on with it already_. Waiting around is going to kill me. I hate waiting. I need to know for curtain that's it's my name being called.

Mayor Jaines slowly begins his generic speech that the capital gives to every district mayor. He draws out each syllable, and is so utterly slow, I feel like I'm about to die of old age, but it's probably due to the fact that I'm anxious.

He's doing this on purpose now, because I've seen his eyes flash over to me at least three times. On his next look I glare at him, trying to communicate the words _Faster Already_. It seems to work because he looks down at his paper and continues reading at a quicker pace.

He still looks up from time to time at something different, but I think nothing of it. He keeps looking in the same direction every time though, which bothers me yet again. He has no wife to look for, and no children. What on Earth does he have to look at?

"Why does he keep looking at Assaf?" Deliah leans over to me, answering my thought. I quickly find the 16's and look for Assaf. She's right, he is looking over there. _Why? _I sum it up to the fact that he's his nephew.

"He is his nephew you know. Probably just worried," I tell her, echoing my thoughts.

"But he's not looking at me, though, and I'm his niece," She says. Her face conveys irritation.

"Because he knows I'm going to be called. Didn't you see him eyeballing me?"

"Oh. Well, now he's eyeballing Assaf. He could at least show a little concern. I might still be called." I notice a peacekeeper staring at us and hush Deliah. "All I'm saying," Deliah continues in a whisper, "Is that it's weird for him to be worried about Assaf. He doesn't like him much."

"Does it matter? Just watch the freaking thing," I say. Then it dawns on me. What if Assaf is going to be called too? No way am I taking him with me. I can't watch him die. Plus Deliah and her family would be crushed. There has to be some other reason why Mayor Jaines is looking at him Worried, yeah. That's it.

The mayor is currently talking about how Panem rose from the ashes of a destroyed North America, then continues to why the Hunger Games were started. When the districts rose up against the capital, there was a fierce war. This war ended with a missal attack on, the no longer in existence, district 13. We've never learned much about that district, except that they were they main suppliers of graphite. I only know that we can't use pencils in the classroom because of them. Now district 13 is a heap of gravel still smoldering from the chemical bomb the capital dropped on them.

The Mayor begins to round off his speech by saying how lucky we districts are that the capital spared us, but that's all a lie. If the capital didn't have to rely on the districts for all their supplies and such things, they would have destroyed us along with district 13 a long time ago.

The mayor heaves a sigh before saying "Thank you," and walking to the back of the stage, where a chair is waiting for him. An eccentric woman comes to take his place. Juni Fwell I think. She skitters to the podium in eight inch heels and steps on a stool to be seen. The woman is short, even with the heels, and I can't help snickering. She smiles for sometime before beginning. She's wearing a deeply embellished pant suit. It's electric green with neon pink flowers sprawling across the whole thing. It fit her well and showed off her small waist. Her hair was bleach blonde and in pig tails. She looks like a child at the podium, and it doesn't help that she's so young. She just recently replaced the previous capital representative.

"Ladies and gentlemen of district 12!" she began in a thick district accent. "As you know, this is the 110th Hunger Games, and I am so happy to be here. Now lets get started with the drawings! Ladies first, as always." The woman walks over to a table with two large crystal balls, and reaches into the one with thousands of pink slips in it. Our populace isn't large, and we definitely don't have thousands of children, but the capital does offer tesserace in which a child offers to put their name in another time in exchange for a years worth of oil and grain. They can take out Tesserace as many times as they want. I take out one for each of my family members every year.

The woman finally pulled her arm out of the bowl and came back to the podium with a slip. My stomach dropped as she opened it, and Deliah grab my arm, squeezing hard, as if to keep me safe.

"Airilee Hawthorne!" she screamed. All emotions were wiped from my face as I stood up. Deliah still had my arm, so I had to shake it off. Her face said she was in shock.

"I'm sorry, Deliah," I whisper as I make my way to the stage. I should be crying, shaking in my boots, but I walk to the stage as calmly as ever. My mind is as blank as my face. I take my place next to the woman on stage and shake her hand, then go to the mayor who is sitting on his steel chair at the back of the stage. I shake his hand as well, then take my seat in one of the two empty chairs. There are five in all. One for the mayor, two for the tributes, and two for the mentors, who are winning tributes from previous games. One is a eighty-two year old man named Haymitch Abernathy, who won the 50th Hunger Games. Another is Sollel Wiline, who one the 94th Hunger Games. She's tweny-nine years old, and won on pure intelligence. As did Haymitch. These are the people that I'll have to listen to for the next few weeks until I'm in the arena.

"Boys next!" Juni said as she hopped over to the next ball. She thrusts her hand in as she did before, taking her time. She grabs one of the blue slips and comes back to the podium. I like the woman better from behind. She opens the slip and reads the name.

"Assaf Jaines!" She screams. All the blood drains from my face. All those looks the Mayor threw at him did mean something. Why is this happening? Why does the one guy I actually know have to be picked?

I look to the side and see a screen with my face plastered on it. My olive skin has gone completely white, and my jaw is on the floor. I rearrange my appearance into an emotionless mask, and the screen goes back to Assaf. When he arrives on the stage, Juni waves her hand at me, signaling me to come back to the podium. Once at the podium, I shake Assaf's hand.

"There you go Panem! The tributes of district 12! May the odds be_ ever_ in your favor," Juni says out into open space. Her squeaky voice is really starting to grate my nerves. Juni shoes us across the stairs where we are met by peacekeepers. They escort us to the Justice building, where all the officials, like the mayor, work. Here is where we're going to say our goodbyes. We each get an hour to say goodbye to friends and family, one at a time. I'm taken to a room with several couches and benches. I take my own seat on purple velvet couch in the corner. Trying to fade away into the wall behind it. Soon my family will be here, and I'll have to face them.

After several unoccupied minutes, a peacekeeper escorts my mom and dad in. Even once he's gone, my parents stand awkwardly in the middle of the room. I can't seem to forgive them for what they've done, and this final goodbye isn't going to help.

"It's not what you think," my dad finally says.

"Then what is it," I softly mutter back. I'm surprised I didn't scream.

"It's a plan to-," he stops in the middle of his sentence, and drops his voice to a whisper. "It's a plan to over throw the Capital." This catches my attention, and I sit up straighter. My eyes must convey interest because he continues. "thirty-six years ago, your aunt, Katniss Everdeen, volunteered as tribute for the 74th Hunger Games," He stops, letting this sink in.

"Why on Earth would she volunteer? No one form District 12 ever wins," I'm very confused.

"Because they called my name," my mother said, barely auditable. My mother's answer surprises me. Is that why she hates watching the Games? Because it reminds her of her sister's sacrifice?

"Yes, she volunteered for your mother," my dad said. " The male tribute from our district that year was named Peeta Mellark. Do you know why these were the district 12 tributes for that year?"

"It's suppose to be completely random, right?" I ask him.

"Well, no. Not that year at least. They were picked because of a plot created by a group of rebels planning to over throw the Capital."

"Wait, if that's true, how did they know that Katniss would volunteer?"

"Because they've been studying her, along with Peeta."

"Okay, your losing me."

"The rebel's picked them because of Peeta's love for Katniss."

"Wait, Peeta loved Katniss?"

"I didn't say that already? Well, he did. They knew that this could be the chance they were waiting for. Through their mentor, Haymitch, they were able to convince Peeta to confess his love for her at the interviews. Katniss was a very smart woman, and if they could convince her to fake her own love for him for popularity in the Games, then there was a chance to get her to actually like him. She would never kill him, anyway, so they planned to have them come out of the game together. If you watched the Games, you'd hear Seneca Crane, the head game maker then who was on the rebel's side, telling them that tributes from the same district could win together if both of them were alive at the end. If we could get both of them out, then President Snow, who is now dead, would be furious. Then a whole chain reaction would be set in place, with growing tensions between Katniss and the president. The only flaw was that the Capital discovered this plot, and killed Katniss at the final three. They didn't worry about Peeta because the other tribute, Cato, would take care of him."

"How did she die," I ask him. I'm still confused. My dad isn't the best at explaining things.

"she was killed by Muttations. They were rabid wolves who were created to look like the tributes. She was killed trying to protect Peeta. I guess she did ended up falling in love with him in the end after all," he explained.

"I guess. What do I have to do with all of this?" I ask him.

"Well, Katniss died to soon for the plan to really take effect," he answered.

"What about Assaf? Is there any particular reason why he was picked?" I asked blatantly.

"Assaf's complicated," he began. "You see, They're trying to replicate the whole Katniss and Peeta plan, but with you and Assaf. You have skills just like Katniss, and Assaf. Well, they probably thought you had feelings for him."

"Well, I don't. They're wrong. Assaf is a friend. No, he's my friend's brother. It's practically illegal to like him. I don't know where their minds were when they came up with that," I said, annoyed.

"I tried to tell him that, but he wouldn't listen," he said.

"Wait. Who's him?" I ask, determined to get to the bottom of this.

"Gale, your uncle. He runs the district 12 portion of the Rebel's group. He's the one who came up with the thought of replicating the original plan."

"So he's the one who thought to make me tribute," I ask. My voice is barely a whisper.

"Yes," he answers. I heavy sob emanates from my chest as I finally begin to cry. My dad comes and sits next to me and I lean my head on his shoulder.

"Why would he do that," I say through the tears.

"I don't know," he says softly. My mother comes over and gives me a tight squeeze.

"It will be okay, Airilee.," She says. I look up to see that she's crying too, and hug her back.

"I know mom. It will be okay," I tell her in a soothing voice. "Everything will be okay. It has to be"

**Whoo! Chapter three is done! I plan on coming out with these about once a week, so see you next Sunday. **

_This update's question_- Should the next chapter begin on the train, or already in the capital?


	4. Chapter 4: Black Out

Black out

"Aie!" I yelped as my one of my stylists ripped a long strip of hair from my legs. "You're killing me here," I yell, while still trying to be polite. The three people around me, my prep team I think, are removing all of my hair, and their methods are painful. Haymitch, one of my mentors, has told me to follow whatever orders the stylists gave, though. Since that's the only thing he's actually said to me, I thought it was worth a shot, but I've had several profanities rush to my lips during the course of the day.

"Oh darling, don't you want to look beautiful? All this hair is not beautiful," One of them says. I recall them telling me their names earlier, but I zoned out after hello. Capital people are too preppy for me, and their accent is impossible to not laugh at.

The three continue talking as if I wasn't hear. It's all about their parties, and their clothing, and that new, exclusive restaurant that opened up right down the street. They don't care that they're preparing a 15 year old girl for slaughter.

Slaughter. The thought reminds me of home, the butcher shop actually. I would bring extra meat there, and the man who ran the shop would pay a good price for it. He's never Cheap. He pays what he knows is fair, or nothing at all. That's why I liked him, but he's just a faint memory now. I'm going to die in the arena, so it does me no use to remember him.

A tall man walks into the room as the stylists begin to finish up. The three are too busy chatting to notice though.

"Pomona, you and the others must be finishing up! We don't want her to be late for her chariot ride, now do we?" he chirped to the others. They nod and mumble in agreement. This man must be the actual stylist. He's just like the rest of them. His fashion is wildly colorful, his hair is all kinds of crazy colors- Green, blue, pink, ect- and his skin has the strangest pattern covering it, the face at least. This place is just one huge eye sore. Not to mention all of the other styles here that are "all the rage." People in district 12 would never dress like this. Another twinge pains my heart. District 12...

The three do one last thing to my hair, some type of styling technique I assume, then leave. As soon as the door shuts, The stylist pounces on me.

"You are very beautiful, aren't you. Do you like your new look?" he asks.

"I haven't bothered to look in a mirror," I snap. The man's face contorts into anger.

"That's no way to talk to a stylist, girl. You should show respect," he yells. This startles me. Where on earth did this burst of anger come from? Maybe this man is a little smarter than I anticipated. The others returned my anger and shouts with giggles and dumb remarks, but this man looks a bit violent. I switch to a cold stare, instead of the earlier angry remarks.

"That's much better, girl. Now disrobe while I go get your outfit for this evening," he says in a calloused voice while exiting the room, no happier than before. The thin robe that I was allowed to wear while the prep team worked on me had to come off now and be replaced by whatever he wanted me to wear. It will probably be something stupid though. Chariot outfits must pertain to the district's main industry. There isn't much you can do with coal mining though, so we usually end up wearing something stupid, like a plain coal mining outfit. Though one year, there was an outfit that focused on fire, designed by one named Cinna, and it looked pretty spectacular. The outfits have only improved a little since then, though. Past stylists haven't measured up to Cinna, but maybe the new stylist I just met will do better.

The man walks in, glowering at me more than when he left, with a small amount of material. He carefully opens it, and I step into the fabric. They're pants, black and shiny things that feel like some type of leather, but it's too thin to be that. He then puts something over my head that just barely fits over my breasts. It's the same material as the pants with a scrunch in the middle.

The stylist, who didn't bother to tell me his name, leaves the room again for something else. I find the mirror in the room, and take a look at myself. I actually do look pretty. My eyebrows are perfectly shaped, my hair is cut to shoulder length, and in a bun on my head. Not to mention my arms and legs. They're perfectly smooth. I kind of like it. My skin looks as healthy as ever due to some type of oil they put on my skin earlier, and the black leather complements it.

When he comes back in, he is carrying a bright red piece of cloth. The cloth is attached to the black material. He slips it over my head, not very gently, and adjusts it to fit over the black cloth I'm already wearing. It's the exact same material over my breasts, but under that, it flows into several fire like tendrils that drift down to my mid-thigh. It looks like fire. Exactly like fire. Say what you will about this man, and his attitude, but he's a genius. I look as if I'm engulfed in a fiery dress.

He sees me admiring his work and speaks up. His voice has softened.

"I studied under the previous stylist, Cinna," he tells me. He actually sounded nice for a moment. I decide to see how nice this man can be.

"It's beautiful. I'm beautiful," I tell him. It's the truth, but I still pay close attention to his reaction.

"I know," he states bluntly, then walks out. What is his deal?

I continue to admire myself in the mirror until a knock sounds at the door, and one of the prep team stylists steps in.

"I'm here to escort you to the chariots," She says quietly. I tear my gaze from the mirror and stare at her.

"What's your name," I ask out right. She's taken aback by my question.

"Uh, it's Rhea," she pauses, analyzing my reaction. "And the others are-"

"I don't care about the others," I tell her. I don't, and I don't care what her name is either. I just want to freak her out. Any small form of revenge I can take on Capital for sending me to my death will be used as long as I am alive.

"Oh, um, well lets get going," she says awkwardly and turns to leave. I follow her swiftly down the hall, and realize I don't have shoes on. I ignore it though, and just follow her. There's probably some exterior motive behind this. She leads me through several hall ways to an elevator. Inside, she pushes a button and the elevator begins moving rapidly. After a disorienting ride, the elevator stops and lets us out. I follow her, wobbling a little, to an open area full of horses, tributes, and frantic people trying to prepare them. I see a chariot with a familiar face in it, and leave the stylist to run over there.

"Assaf!" I scream, and he looks up. A smile spread across his face as he opens up his arms to give me a hug. I run head long into his embrace and nearly knock him off balance. I missed him in this strange place. He's wearing an almost identical out fit, but the shirt is different.

"Wow, Airilee, what got into you? You're usually not like this" he says, laughing.

"This place makes me want to hug anyone I know. Even that drunk, Haymitch," I say quietly. He chuckles lightly.

"Yeah, all the people here are freaks." The stylist just reaches us when he says that. She's scowling, but becomes quickly excited at our embrace.

"Do I see a couple of love birds here?" she asks excitedly.

"No!" we both answer in unison. She laughs quietly.

"I have your shoes in the chariot, Miss," she says to me. She steps on to the only step, then into the chariot to retrieve my shoes. I stay with Assaf. She tosses them over the side, and I catch them easily. There black platform shoes. They would have killed my feet if I walk over here in them. The heels are outrageously huge. I silently thank the woman for letting me come bare foot.

"They will make you look taller," she says as she steps down. I slip them on and fasten them.

"Thank you," I tell her, eager for her to leave. She quickly does when I say nothing else.

I look at all the others tributes, but only District one's outfits could compare to ours. The rest look goofy in tree and fish costumes.

An announcement tells us all to board our chariots, and one at a time we begin to exit the large area we were kept in. District 12 is last out and the crowd has begun to get restless, but we do catch some attention because of our outfits. The makeup the prep team put on earlier looks invisible as I looked up at myself on a large screen.

Assaf and I look amazing in our costumes, and the crowd must agree because before long I hear bunches of them screaming our names. How nice. They bothered to learn them. I decide to reward them with a smile in some directions. In return, they scream my name louder.

I like all of this attention, it's nice to be seen for once. At home, I'm like a ghost in wandering around various places. I don't want to be seen most of the time, but other times, I get lonely. That would be when I would go over to Deliah's house. We would talk until I was satisfied, and then we would do something together, like go look around the town square at all the things we- she- could buy.

The thought of Deliah, made me turn to Assaf. He's been staring at me for a while now, it looks, and I feel a little uncomfortable

"Are you okay," I ask him. He turns his head.

"Yeah, but you don't look so good," he tells me, staring straight ahead at the crowd. He's right. My stomach is killing me, but I didn't notice until he said something.

Now that I am paying attention, my stomach really hurts. It feels like someone's stabbing me right in the abdomen. How did I miss this? I cross my arms over my stomach, and double over in pain. A cry escapes my lips, as Assaf grabs my shoulder to help me stay some what upright.

"Airilee?" he says, worried.

"My stomach," I mumble. "Why is my stomach hurting?" I ask him.

"Did you eat anything?" he says. I tell him no quietly. The crowd seems to have noticed my pain by now, and I can hear several _ohs _coming from their direction.

"Not since the train ride," I continue. This makes him laugh.

"The train ride two days ago? Airilee, are you trying to starve yourself? As soon as we get in, you need to eat," he says. He can't seem to stop laughing. I growl at him. This pain doesn't feel like hunger pain, but I still try to stand up straight any way.

"Shut up Assaf," I say quietly, determined to continue. No one will support a girl who's already hurt.

I push the pain to the back of my mind, and smile, trying to show that I'm fine. Some crowd members sigh with relief, and return their eyes to the other tributes.

"Why haven't you eaten?" Assaf presses, smiling at the crowd.

"Well, you see, I'm about to go into an arena with 23 other people who are all trying to kill me, and eating just doesn't fit into my schedule of hair pulling and nail biting," I tell him sarcastically.

"Make time," he says with yet another laugh. Why is he so happy right now. He's smiling as brightly as ever, and all I want to do is punch him in the face for it. _We are all about to die, and your smiling? Laughing like you don't have a care in the world?_

The chariots begin to slow as we arrive in front of the president's mansion. All screens turn to the man who steps out on the balcony. President Cooper.

"Ladies, Gentlemen," he pauses to look the tributes over, pausing on me. His stare is cold and calculating. "And tributes," he draws out the last syllable in tributes. His voice sounds completely inviting, but his stare isn't as friendly. He continues.

"I would like to welcome you to the 110th Hunger Games," he says carefully. "This Hunger Games is guaranteed to be the best yet," as he says this, his face begins to light up, as if he's planning something. "We have quite a few surprises in store for you, loyal citizens of the capital. You will no doubt enjoy them. As for you tributes, you might not like it as much," he laughs strangely at his thought. Something like three exaggerated sighs meant to be laughs. President Copper continues, but I zone out. He's not that funny to me, but the capital citizens eat it up.

Not too long after the president begins, the speech is over and the Chariots begin moving to the training center, where the tributes will stay until the games begin. There are twelve floors above ground in the training center, one floor for each district to reside on. The floors under ground are used for various purposes, but I know at least one is where the tributes train and learn how to fight for the games. We will spend most of our waking hours there.

Our chariots enter a large opening in the wall of the building, that shuts quickly after the last chariot, then we are surrounded by our stylists, mentors, and our escort, Juni.

"You guys were amazing," she chirps to us. "Especially you, Airilee. Your whole pain stunt really got the crowd!"

"That wasn't a stunt, Juni," Assaf tells her, grabbing my shoulder in the process as I am reminded of my empty stomach. I feel about ready to collapse, and lean heavily of Assaf.

"Oh," she says dumbly. I kick off my shoes and hop down from the chariot with Assaf's help.

"She just needs to eat," he says as he plops down beside me. Now that I'm moving, my vision is starting to blur, and my head is becoming fuzzy.

"Careful Airilee," Assaf tells me while attempting to steady me. "Hunger does horrible things to you."

"You don't think I know that," I snap, swatting his hands away. "I am from district 12 you know," I say, verbally slapping him. I walk all of about three steps away before the concrete beneath my feet swells up to my face, and a darkness surrounds me.

**If you haven't caught on by now, I'm planning on updating these every weekend. I want to speed this up, but it's hard to do this on weekdays with school and what not. Oh, I would enjoy it if you gave me some feed back! I have no idea how I'm doing, and need some input.**

_This Update's Question_- The ending of Mockingjay, how did you feel about that?


	5. Chapter 5: Avox

**Assaf POV**

She hit the pavement with a thud loud enough to turn every head in the room. If Airilee was awake right now she would hate the attention, but she's not moving, and it doesn't matter. She's out like a light.

Juni screams frantically, trying to figure out what to do, while the medics come in. If there were not anyone looking already, they would be looking now. Juni has worked herself up into a frenzy, seeming as if she's debating with herself on whether to go with Airilee's unconscious body when I decide to speak up.

"Airilee, you're retard," I laugh to make this seem less insulting, but mean it all the same. I turn to the medics. "She hasn't eaten since the train ride here," I tell them.

"You mean the train ride to days ago?" the male one of the two says, astonished.

"Yeah, that's what I said. Airilee's a bit of an idiot, though so don't think anything of it," I tell them. I breath another laugh under my breath. I think of myself as the kind of person that can turn around any situation into an optimistic one with a bit humor. Now is no exception, and I'm determined to use the best of my abilities to undermine the seriousness that is clearly needed. In an effort to continue, I offer to go with Airilee and the medics.

"No, no! you'll just make the situation more difficult!" The female medic screeches. "The last thing we need is to have you in that small elevator with us. It's cramped already with just us two."

"Listen to them Assaf. Besides, you need to prepare for tomorrow's training," Sollel says. That is quite possibly the first thing she's said the entire time I've been in the same vicinity as her.

""Whatever," I say to her. I should start pumping my mentors, Sollel and Haymitch, for information anyway, and dinner is the perfect time to do so. Conveniently, dinner is coming up. As soon as I change out of this ridiculous costume. Flames don't suite me, however, Airilee looks lovely. Glowing and shimmering in the firelight that consumes her.

"Can we go? I'm starving," I say out loud to no one in particular. Trying to get to the dinner table faster.

"I think that's a good idea," Haymitch pipes ups. Another first, conversation wise. I flash a brilliant smile at him and laugh.

"I think you're quickly becoming my favorite mentor, Haymitch," the smile is normal for me. My days are generally consumed with smiling at people. I'm a smiling person, and tend to make others smile around me as well. It's my strongest suit, along with making them laugh. No matter how pessimistic they act, my smile trumps their depression. Haymitch doesn't go along with it, though. He just gets up slowly, leaning heavily on his cane, then turns to leave.

I turn around to look for Airilee, but the medics seem to have disappeared without us noticing. I think nothing of it and just follow Haymitch out. Eventually the rest of the group will follow, but I really am itching to get out of this costume.

The elevators aren't as small as the medics made it seem. I was think of a box that could only fit a small child, but this could fit ten people easily.

The twelfth floor, the floor that district 12 people will be staying, is spectacular. It's the top floor, so we have the best view of the city. Not that I like the Capital in the first place, but it still looks amazing. I could literally stand at the window all day.

"Beautiful, huh," Sollel says quietly next to me. I hadn't noticed she was there. I nod in agreement, but look at her.

"Sollel, how did you survive The Hunger Games?" She's taken aback by my question.

"Very carefully," she says with a laugh. I laugh with her one that one. "Really, I just outsmarted the others, like our dear old Haymitch. I tried not to get into too many altercations, and waited out till the end for the most part. Eventually I did have to fight, but not until it was absolutely necessary," she says this confidently, then looks down. "I felt bad about killing that boy though."

"It's okay, Sollel. You did what you had to do to survive," I tell her.

The dinner our avox servants put out was amazing. There were at least five courses of pure decadence. I couldn't stop stuffing myself between the lamb stew with exotic vegitables in it, and the chicken pot pie with the flakey crust. If I had to die then, I would die happy.

Then the deserts came. I was so lost between the humongous triple chocolate cake, the fruit assortment, and the white chocolate strawberries, that I couldn't decide what to eat until they were about to pick up this round of plates.

The food, as I see it, is good for two reasons. One- it's all delicious and irresistible to stop eating and two- I need to bulk up before I get thrown into the arena

Halfway through dinner, though, I've realized that Airilee still hasn't returned. It doesn't help that there's an impossible to not notice empty chair where her body should be. I can't stop thinking about her, and hoping she's okay. But for now, I should just eat. She'll come back soon enough.

**Airilee POV**

I can hears the sounds of machines around me, but I don't open my eyes yet. I take the time to predict what the room will look like. Probably some comfy looking thing with a few life saving machines here and there. Maybe the walls are green. Green seems relaxing, and soothing enough for the Capital.

I open my eyes to find a different story. The entire room is white. The walls are glossy, and plastic looking, and one whole wall is devoted to machinery, most of which seems to lead to a tube inserted in my arm. I avert my eyes from tube, trying not to make myself sick again, and go back to the walls. There's no windows or doors visible, making me feel trapped and claustrophobic. The room is so different than what I'm used to.

I try to sit up, and encounter some difficulty. Not only does my stomach protest, but I can get higher than two inches off the bed. I fall back, tired and in pain. Not too long after this, a man in white walks in to check the machines.

"When can I get out of here?" I ask him. He jumps in fright at my comment, surprised at my alert state of mind probably. Then he just shakes his head and goes back to work on the machine wall. This annoys me. He can't ignore me. I need to get out of here and get back to the training center before the games start.

"Um, hello? Did you hear me," I try to be polite while saying this, but end up failing. "You're not deaf or anything, right? Because I really do need to go," he just shakes his head again. Okay, this is starting to get old. "Will you stop it! I need to get back to the training center. I don't know about you, but I've got this whole thing called The Hunger Games that I have to win, so please let me go."

He shakes his head again, but then tries to convey something to me. He moves his hands in several motion, fluidly, but I'm thoroughly confused. The man decides to switch to a different method, and just points to his mouth instead. Is he saying that he's an… an avox? It dawns on me what he's saying. No wonder he can't talk. I wonder what he did. To become an Avox, one has to betray the Capital somehow. Then these betrayers get their tongue cut out, and become servants for the rest of their lives to the capital. It sounds cruel to me. Never being able to talk again. Always having to serve those who were once your friends and neighbors. I can't imagine becoming mute like that, so suddenly. It's scary.

I give up on the lopsided conversation and return my head to the pillow beneath. There's no use in trying to talk to him.

"Can I at least get someone in here that can speak. I really want to leave," I finally say. The man shakes his head again, but this time comes to my bedside. He presses a string of buttons before returning to his wall again. I wonder what he was doing before the drowsiness set in . I resist my heavy eyes for some minutes until they become to much, and return to the darkness.

OMG! This chapter is so short! I feel nervous about posting this. Plus, Assaf's POV concerns me. I don't know if I depicted his character well enough. Please review! You'd be amazing if you reviewed!

_This Update's Question- _Do you think Airilee will be well enough in time for The Games?


	6. Chapter 6 Irritations

The pounding at the door jolts me from my sleep. Turning over, I stare at the door through dreary eyes.

""Get out of bed! You're late!" Sollel screams, louder than necessary. She's stomping down the hall just a few seconds later. Rolling on to my back, I close my eyes, hoping to get a few more seconds of sleep. It's no use because an argument has broken out a few rooms down from the one I'm currently lying in. Angered, I jump out of my bed to yell at them, but fall to the ground, tangled in sheets.

"Damn it," I shout at the silk blue bedding. A horrible feeling rises in my chest as I struggle with the sheets. Becoming trapped by inanimate objects is one of my biggest fears. It tends to bring out the crazy in me, and it's not long before I'm screaming at them.

"Get off me!" I yell, ripping the fabric from my legs. Launching myself towards the door, I jog down the hall, and see Sollel shouting absurdities at Haymitch.

"Get over it, you old bat!" she screams, throwing a plate of scrambled eggs at him. Haymitch ducks, but not quickly enough, because the plate slams into his left eye, and he looses his balance. Landing on his back, he starts scrambling like a turtle to get up. I'm surprised he didn't break something on the way down, though. He's just so old. I heard someone say once that's he's already received an operation for a broken hip, and he's taking Capital issued drugs so he can quit drinking. Capital citizens love the drama our mentors bring to their show, and the Game Makers are trying to draw out Haymitch's life as long as possible, but if you ask me, he's already on borrowed time.

"Will you all shut up! It's impossible to sleep around you people!" I yell, eyeing Sollel. I suspect she started it. Out of the corner of my eyes, I can see two avoxs rush over to Haymitch, trying to prop him up against the wall behind him. He's still sprawling about, and has broken out into a sweat.

"You're not suppose to be asleep! Your suppose to be down at the training center! Now!" She retorts. Assaf walks into the room then, just out of bed on account of his pajamas.

"What's going on?" he mumbles, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wipe the sleep away.

"These two have decided to pick a fight this early in the morning," I tell him, exasperated. I gesture to Haymitch and Sollel, because he doesn't seem to be getting my point.

"Whatever," he says, drifting back the hall towards his room.

"Where are you going?" Sollel shouts after him.

"Back to sleeps," he says. Sollel groans, and just sits down at the dinning table, burying her head in her hands.

"This is impossible," she tells herself.

I decide to follow Assaf's lead, and go back to bed, but I realize that's not happening as soon as my eyes shut. I see all the ways I can die in those few seconds of darkness, so I just get up, and start looking for something decent to wear to my first day of training. I've already missed the actual first day, so I really need to make some kind of an impression today. I will not be seen as some wimpy girl who is so sick, she can't even stand straight.

I dig through the various draws and chests around the room looking for something that doesn't scream _'I'm a capital freak'_ but I eventually settle on a deep blue, shimmering top, and a pair of white capris. I pull on the uncomfortable shirt, glad the pants are actually were flexible, then plopped down on a green love seat in the corner of the room. This one room, small compared to capital standards, is bigger than my house. I could work up a sweat running a complete circle around this room. The walls are a soft peach color, with white moldings, that are deeply embellished. All of the chests and drawers are a faded forest green. I can tell some have been recently repainted because they are a darker shade of the same green. I envy this room. I wish I could have one of my own.

I snap myself out of this thought as a knock at the door sounds.

"You really should be leaving now," a quiet voice says. This is probably Juni, our capital escort. She must have made herself scarce during the argument earlier, and just decided now to be a safe time to broach someone.

"Can't be late for the training," she says, her voice trembling. I can tell she's trying to sound excited. I jump up from the coach, but open the door slowly to her. She smiles when she sees I'm calm.

"Oh good, your awake. Have you eaten?" She asks.

"No," I say shortly, brushing past her to grab some food to take on the ride down the elevator.

"Okay," she says, disappointed. Looking at the table, I decide to take a muffin, and some cranberry fruit leather, before walking back over to the elevator. Assaf is drugging past me, sloppily dressed, as the doors close. Guess he's not coming with me just yet. What does it matter? There are only two days of training left, counting the day that the game makers access us. I can't be worrying about him right now. I must be focused.

The doors of the elevator open to more screaming. This time more shrill than Sollel's. I step out to see a dark haired girl, about my age, shouting at an avox. Apparently, from what I can hear, the avox moved in the wrong way while they were sparring. The avox has dazzling blonde hair and bronzed skin. Not to mention her deep blue eyes. Something leads me to believe this girl came from district four, but that's impossible. Avoxs are people from the Capital who have betrayed the Capital in some way. As punishment, they are to have their tongue cut out, and must serve as servants in the Capital for the rest of their lives.

As I walk around the training center, watching the situation deteriorate, I can see that the avox has blood dripping down her arm. She crying now, as the girl, I've figured that she's Maia Liber, continues to yell. It makes no sense, because all she did was move. I can't watch this any more, so I turn to one of the stations on fire building. I haven't had much experience in this, on account of my mother not letting me go out far in the winter months. I can never get much game in those months.

I easily get a fire going twice with matches but it takes me half an hour, with help from the station's instructor, to start one without them. I try again, unsuccessfully this time, before throwing the wood on the ground angrily, and stomping away towards the plants. This is just a refresher for me, since my mother works in a Hypothecary shop, and it's only been fifteen minutes before I'm moving on.

I just start tying knots at a station across the center, when a bell signaling lunch is chimed. Slowly, I work my way up to where several trays are set up. A majority of the district children stay back, avoiding the careers, but I need to eat, so I brush through them, and take a tray filled with mashed potatoes, roast beef, celery, and some apple juice. I can see everyone eyeing me for this. The careers, with a gleam of hostility in their eyes, and the others, with admiration. They would be eating right now if they weren't afraid of the careers. I pick a table with the least people sitting around it and push the food around my plate, trying to ignore the looks being thrown at me by the careers. Eventually, a tray is set down beside me, and I see Assaf sit down.

"took you long enough," I say antagonistically.

"I don't know if you haven't noticed, but I got here right after you did," he shoots back. "And what's with the attitude?"

"I'm just irritated. This has been the worst day so far. Now please go away. I don't feel like talking."

"How has this been the worst day for you?" he groaned. "You've done everything just fine since you've gotten here."

"No, it hasn't been. For one, I was trapped by my sheets this morning, rudely awoken by Sollel, and her stupid argument, I've missed the first day of training. The careers hate me because I got a tray of food, and I can't even set a freaking fire without a match," I bark at him.

"I think you did just fine," he mutters.

"Says the boy who can breeze through life on good luck and charm. You've never had to actually use any of this stuff before, like I have, and the fact that I can't do it right just pisses me off," I say.

"I can't believe you. Two days ago, we were perfectly fine. Why are you so worried?"

"You want to know why? Well, it's because I have to win this. My family actually needs me to survive. I don't even know how they are doing it now. I need to get back home." I push my uneaten tray aside and lay my head down on the table. Hopefully, Assaf will go away. By the sound of the seat next to me scraping against the floor, I'd say he took the hint. I look back up and begin picking apart the roast beef.

Another bell, ending lunch, sounds, and I leave my tray and drift towards the knife throwing station. The instructor looks at me with uncertainty.

"Are you sure you want to be handling these knives. Why don't you go over to the basic training first," he says. I just pick up a set of six knives and ignore him.

"Um, miss, you should really go to the other station," he says as he inches back. I grab the first knife by the blade, savoring the feeling, and with lightning speed, I chuck it at the board. To the instructor's disbelief, it hits just off of the bulls eye. The next one wedged itself directly in the center of the board. I smile, then lob the rest of my knives at the board before moving off to the hand-to-hand combat station. I don't know much about this, so I end up spending the rest of the day here. I learn how to block a kick, slap, and punch. Not only that but two ways on how to kill someone. One way is to bring the person to the ground then crush their skull with a drop of your knee. Another way is to come up behind them, bring both hand to their temples to crush the skull, then bring your hands out to the front of their neck, and pull them back as hard as you can to crush the windpipe. I learned some grappling moves too, and was able to bring down the instructor twice, but I suspect he was going easy on me based on my size.

The whole combat thing has just exhausted me. I'm heading for the elevators, when Assaf jogs up to me.

"Hey, I'm sorry for earlier," he says breathlessly.

"For what? I yelled at you, remember?" I tell him.

"Yeah, but I just can't stand people being mad at me."

"Well, look around you. Everyone here wants to kill you. How do you feel about that?"

"Not comfortable, but they're not mad at me. You are."

"I'm not mad. I'm irritated. Now shut up so I can get some peace." The elevator ride is short, and as soon as the doors open I walk over to the dinning room table, grab what my hands find, then exit to my room. I'm not in the mood for conversation.

I grabbed the worst selection, too. A piece of pork chop, almost entirely fat, a small potato, and some French fries. Disgusting, greasy, French fries. I dump the whole tray in the trash and just order from a panel in the wall. I ='ve decided on a blueberry muffin, assorted vegetables, cream corn, and some more roast beef. The piece I had earlier was delicious so I figured I could eat it again. After a second, I put in another order for a cherry flavored soda. Five minutes of boredom pass before the tray arrives. I scarf down the roast beef, and then polish off the rest of the meal quickly after. I ate too fast though, because I find my self looking into a toilet before no time with all of my dinner coming back up.

Staggering back over to my bed, I fall into my bed and turn all the lights off so I can sleep. I would order a glass of water to wash the taste out of my mouth, but I'm afraid it will come up as well, so I just fall into a strange sort of limbo as substitute for sleep, not even dreaming.

Sorry this took me so long! I've had to start this over all of about three times! Please forgive me!


	7. Chapter 7: Changes

The morning begins with coffee. Literally. Only the smell of a fresh cup brewing brings me out of my bed and downstairs into the kitchen. I wouldn't say I was rich, but I am well off enough to have an enormous kitchen. I walk over to a panel on the left wall of my kitchen and order breakfast. Usually I'd get an egg and sausage English muffin because I have to be out the door in time for work, but I have the day off today, so I order something extravagant. A nice large bowl of lamb stew coated in an orange sauce and generously sprinkled with dried plums. Delicious.

After about five minutes, I have my food, and am wandering into my even larger living room.

"Channel 1003," I say aloud. Upon my orders, the wall in front of me splits vertically in two. Revealing a T.V. screen that takes up an entire wall itself.

"Could you repeat your channel request Miss Aquila?" a robotic voice booms from the ceiling.

"Channel 1003, you stupid robot!" I shout. I paid for the best technology, and it still makes the simplest errors. With a click, the T.V. turns on, and then flips to channel 1003, Panem's nation wide news. I can see my best friend, Silvia, now. She's wearing a bright pink pants suit, embroidered with gold flowers, and giving a report in front of the training center about today's events. Her hair's been dyed again, and I now a florescent blue. She's going to be calling soon to gloat about how she looked today. On queue, I ear a ringing sound throughout the house.

"Call waiting. Silvia Rollan. Accept or decline?" the same robotic voice from earlier asks.

"What do you think? Accept!" I bark.

"Hey, Aquila! Did you see me and my new outfit?" she chirps.

"Yes I did! You looked so great!" I say

"And the hair?"

"What, do you think I'm blind? Of course I saw it!"

"Well, you did just have that surgery. How was that?"

"Great! I could see within the hour, and my eyes look 1000% better! The diamonds really bring out the purple streaks in my eyes."

"Where were they placed? Where were they placed!"

"Five along the outside of each pupil. I was originally going with the green diamonds, but went with the blood red ones instead. Oh I can't wait till you see!"

"Well, come on down o the training center now! I'm still here. Come on, we'll go partying, and celebrate!"

"Okay, okay! I'll be down in a minute, but we'll have to hurry. I don't want to miss a minute of the reaping!"

"Me neither!" she says, hanging up. I put the half eaten bowl of stew aside to throw away, and go back upstairs to change. I peruse my clothing options on the computer panel outside my closet, and order my new midnight blue ruffled blouse, and some black slacks with white splatters of paint sewn right into them.

I put the order in, and open the closet doors, to find the outfit waiting. I pull on the cloths quickly, and throw on some bright make-up. Some blue eye sadow to match the shirt, and white lip stick for the pants. I then pull on my lucky set of bangles and head out.

Despite today being Reaping day, people are crowding out into the streets buying all the newest brands. I see another friend, Gimina, waving at me from a stall down the street, but walk the other way. Gemina is such an air head, and is always trying to but into my plans, so I just ignore her.

I make my way down he street, waving to people I know, and accepting compliments about my eyes. Something glossy catches my eyes, though. A diamond encrusted dragonfly barrette . Now I'm not one for insects. I can't stand them at all, but the iridescent diamonds creating the hefty bug make it irresistible. So I do what a normal girl would do. I bought it. It went with my outfit, anyway, so I can wear it right now. I walk out of the stall, slipping the piece into my hair, and walk towards a large building towards the center of town where I'll meet Silvia.

"Hey," I shout as I walk towards Silvia.

"You're here," she shouts, running up to me to give me a hug. "Oh my gosh, you got a new air clip! When? Where? Tell me!"

"It was over on crafter's street. I was walking over here when I saw it, and I just had to purchase it! Isn't it beautiful?" I ask, pleased she noticed right away.

"I have to get one!" she screamed. I hate someone having the same thing as I do.

"It was the last one," I lie through my teeth. She groans and looks like she's about to cry.

"Maybe you'll find a frog or something," I say soothingly.

"I hate frogs," she mutters as we leave. Her mood quickly shifts as we walk down Aurora street. She loves all the clothes here because they are within her price range, yet still beautiful. If you ask me, it's a bit garish.

We spend about an hour walking around the enormous city together before I receive a call. Taking out my ear piece, I press the button that allows the call to go through, and answer.

"Hello?" I ask inquisitively.

"Yes, is this Aquila Posh, head game maker?" a voice asks

"This is she. Who's calling?" I ask

"Faunus Bows, the geologist for the arena."

"Oh, yes!" I say in recognition, stepping out of the crowd and into a back ally. Silvia follows, but I shoo her with my hands. "What are you calling for, Faunus?"

"The president wants to see you. He has some questions about the arena," he says thinly.

"Okay, I'll be there soon," I tell him, hanging up. Silvia sees that I'm finished, and comes back over to me.

"Ready," she asks animatedly.

"No, I have to leave. Work is calling," I sigh. She mumbles something, but I ignore it. "Bye."

"Bye," she says sullenly. I walk away from her, towards the train station, and wonder what the president could possibly want at this time. I've already settled all the issues with the arena, and have the traps set in place. What else is there. The train ride over to the president's mansion is short, and gives me little time to think, and I'm standing out in front of the President's mansion in no time.

I dig my card out of my bag, and flash it at a scanner. Usually, I'd have to use an iris scanner, but my recent surgery has altered my iris code, and I have to be re-screened. I walk up the path to the front doors, and see three men waiting for me.

"Miss Posh, please come with us. We will be escorting you to President Cooper's office," the largest one says. Even in my eight inch heels, I'm still shorter than him by a head. The three lead me around to the back of the house and in through an old fire exit. There, they take me into an elevator heading for the third floor. One of the men, the shortest, gets a call, and rushes off as soon as the door opens.

"Sorry, there was a break in earlier, and we suspect some of our staff to be involved," one of the remaining says. He then grabs a hold of my shoulder and pushes me down the hall, away from where the one man ran. Unexpectedly, the man pulls me through a plain wooden door where I find the president sitting behind a large mahogany desk.

"Hello, Miss Posh. Have you enjoyed your day so far?" he says in a clear voice. President Cooper is a tough man, a little on the short side, but none the less. I would soon rather mess with a bear and her cubs than him, but he's not all that bad if you're on his good side.

"My day has been well," I explain in a diminutive voice.

"Miss Posh please sit down," he says. "Are you aware of the recent breach in security?" he asks, not waiting for the answer. "Of course you don't, but there are some on your staff that do."

"My staff?" I sputter. "Sir, I know nothing of this."

"Yes, we know that Miss Posh, but we don't know who. That's what I've called you here for. We need help discovering who exactly is behind this, because the information that was stolen today is very sensitive."

"Information was stolen?" I say, astonished. "why would they do that?"

"To hurt the people of this fine city. Now will you be helping, Miss posh?" he asks.

"Yes sir," I answer.

"Good, now I would like to invite you, along with a few others, to watch the reaping here."

"I would love to," I say with a shaky smile. The same men escort me to another room where I will wait for the reaping to begin. I see some of my staff already waiting, and know he wants me start looking now. I make my way over to Vesta, the muttations expert on my team, and sit down.

"Hello, Vesta," I say calmly. He takes a moment before answering.

"Yes, Aquila?"

"I see you were invited to watch the reaping as well."

"Yes, the whole staff was invited," he talks as if he's forcing himself to. Vesta has always been shy.

"Well, okay," I get up and walk away. The rest of the hour is passed with short conversations as I try to talk to everyone working for me. None of them seem any different. A team of guards walk in after some time, and President Gable is right behind them. A T.V. screen is lowered, and the reaping begins. The first three districts are boring. The same story in which some Career volunteers in the first two and no one volunteers in the third district, but it's very uncommon for no one to volunteer in the fourth district. People generally shout at the top of their lungs to volunteer, but there is silence as a tiny girl walks up to the stage. She is sun burnt, and sickly looking, with long bleach blonde hair. The boy looks to be the same, almost as if they were siblings, but they have different last names. Their faces show determination at least. The next few districts are uneventful, but district stands out to me. The Girl, Airilee Hawthorne, seems a little shaken, but also as if she had been anticipating this. Her partner, Assaf Jaines, seems to be covering up a mind in chaos with a thin smile as he walks to the stage. They shake hands, and the camera turns to two announcers. Talking about how great the reaping went, and how strange it was that district four had no volunteers this year.

The lights are flipped back on, and the president is making his way to the front of the room to make a quick speech about upcoming events. He gives no word about the break in, but repeatedly looks to me. As soon as he's finished, We're all escorted off the premises. I'm about to take the train back to my house when Vesta walks up to me.

"Aquila, I was hoping we could go out and get that coffee sometime," he says shyly.

"Employees aren't aloud to date, but we can go just to talk about the Games," I tell him sadly. Vesta is pretty handsome looking with his strong build, square face, and dark brown hair. He's the perfect height, to boot.

"Oh, well, I guess," he continues, looking down as his cheeks turn a bright red.

"How about we watch the chariot rides together tonight?" I ask/

"Sounds perfect," he says, looking up. I walk away with a goodbye, and hurry back to my house to get ready. Vesta will be impressed when he sees me tonight.

I ready myself, taking up every single minute, and put on my best dress. A skin tight violate dress that goes to my knees. It has only one strap, and looks gorgeous on me. I pull out my silver stilettos, and a diamond necklace, applying some make up all the while. Then, I take my new barrette out and push that into my hair as I do it up.

A door bell sounds at my door.

"Vesta Zlone," the house speaks. I ignore the house, and walk downstairs to open the door myself.

"I didn't know you were picking me up," I said with delight.

"I figured I'd be a gentlemen, and pick you up. I brought my car," he says. I have many luxuries, but I never bothered with a car. They seemed over rated, and no one has them, but I won't pass up the offer when given by Vesta. He opens the door for me, and goes to his as well, and pulls off onto a designated driving rode. We drive all the way to the city circle, and park near a few other cars. Vesta parks in a way that takes up to spots, and hops out again to open my door.

"You are so nice, Vesta," I gush. We make our way towards V.I.P. boxes, and sit down near the window. It's another fifteen minutes before the chariots holding the tributes actually arrive, but the crowd goes wild none the less. Cheering random names at whim. I catch the eye of the district 12 girl but she looks away quickly. I'm not sure, but she looked almost as sick as the tributes from district four. Not too long after, I look back to see her hunched over in pain, as her district partner tries to help her back up. She bits her lip though, and continues on again. She's a tough one. Her attitude reminds me of a girl a few years ago, but I can't remember who.

The tribute chariots stop in front of the president's mansion, as he begins his speech. It's a rather slow beginning, but his mood lightens as he speaks, as if he was genuinely excited about watching them die. Of course he is, but he likes to show a more compassionate side to the Capital's citizens. He begins to wrap up his speech, and the chariots move out of view soon after. We stay and discuss plans, though, once everyone leaves.

"I'm excited about the muttations," Vesta says.

"I know. This year, the tributes are in for a shock!" I echo his excitement. He drives me back home, where we part with a simple good-bye, and I head upstairs where I kick off my heels and fall into bed. I watch The replay of the chariot rides, and smile. There's no doubt that they won't be surprised this year.


	8. Chapter 8: Unexpected

"What happened yesterday?" Sollel demands as I stuff myself full of beef and ice water. "You come back from training and go straight to your room! Assaf tells me you threw a tantrum and left!" I shoot a poisonous look at Assaf, but he keeps his eyes on his own food. "Well?" Sollel barks. "What do you want me to tell you," I ask quietly. The truth is, I'm angry with myself as well. Usually, tributes get three days in the training center, and I've spent my first in the hospital. I pretty much wasted my second day fumbling around at the stations. Then, when I was yelling at Assaf, I felt like I had shoved him out in the cold. He was just trying to help and I shut him down. I should really apologize, but its not in my nature to. I hate that about myself. "I want you to tell me what went wrong," sollel said as she sat down. I stay silent as she watches me pick at a muffin. I try my best to avoid her eyes. Its not so much that I don't want to tell her what went wrong, its that I can't tell her. I have no idea what happened. I'd tell her I just had a bad day, but something tells me that would set her off again.

"Fine, don't talk. At least tell me what your going to do for the gamemakers today." She requests in defeat. This brings a smile to my face. "Throw some knives around. Shoot at things with arrows," I say with delight. I love the feel of a knife in my hand as I pitch it towards a target. "That's it?" She asks, surprising me. "Yeah that's it. What else do you want me to do?" I demand. "Throw something in there to spice up your act. Shoot the dummy with the arrows and spell 'win' or something, I don't care. Just do something to catch the gamemaker's eyes. Your the last person to go, and no one will pay you any attention unless you give them a show." Her words have a ring of truth to them, and I know I should follow what she says, but I don't admit that she's right as I dump my half eaten plate of pork roast, beef and blue berry muffins in the trash and head for the elevator.

"Hey wait," Assaf says, sprinting after me. "I want to apologize for yesterday."

"What for? I was the one yelling at you," I say tiredly. Were half way to the training center in the elevator before he speaks again.

"You're under a lot of pressure," he says finally. I can tell the conversation's over when the doors open and he wanders away without waiting for me. I suppose I can't blame him, though.

Slowly, while I wait for the gamemakers to call us in for our private sessions, I meander around the various stations, reinforcing my knowledge. I do much better today at each of the stations, as I move. The plant station is an easy thing to go over. I quickly do a test on which plants are poisonous and which aren't. The test's a breeze, and I'm walking to the next station in about 15 minutes. I stay away from the knife throwing station, though, and go straight for the archery section of the gym..

The bow feels alien like and unfamiliar in my hands. They make them differently in the capital than the ones I have at home. They're old hand-me-downs sure, but this one in my hands is so sleek, so new. The draw string is tighter, and has to be at least a twenty five pound draw back. I use the thing regardless. This is what they'll have in the arena as well, so I might as well get the feel for them now. I adjust to the new instrument carefully as I send arrows flying at the targets set up in front of me. The first set misses every time. While I go to retrieve the arrows in frustration, I can hear the snickers and see the mocking smiles around the room. One girl, from district two, just out right laughs. I take the arrows and put them into my quiver again as I walked back to my post and take my stance. The first three arrows miss again, but I've gotten used to the tighter string by now and the next hits just two rings off from the center. With a smile I send the another one flying for the target. It hits on the bull's eye nearly dead center.

I send the rest off the arrows off with success, which silences the room. No one's laughing now, as I retrieve the set. I continue with this cycle until the staff calls us to order. We each take our seats and wait as one by one, each tribute goes and shows their talent to the game makers. Later on in the day, the game makers will score our performance and televise them, to all of Panem. This is really so that the audience can get a feel for our abilities. With the scores come a heavy number of betting on who they think will win. This is also a chance to get sponsors, which means I probably should take Sollel's tip and do something theatrical like for show.

Assaf's presence next to me isn't giving me much room to think. He's obviously avoiding me, and I can't stand it. Finally, I just end up blurting out my apology without thought.

"Listen Assaf, I didn't mean to yell at you yesterday. You're right, I'm under a lot of pressure right now, and it's in no way your fault. I don't know why I yelled at you I just want to tell you I'm sorry," I say, cheeks burning red. He just stares at me quietly. It's unusual for him, because usually he's so cheerful. The silence burns. Before I know it though, he's pulling me into a hug.

"I forgive you," he sighs. He opens his mouth to say something else, but a peacekeeper is calling his name for his session before the words come. He doesn't look to the peacekeepers as he slowly smiles. Before I know what's happening, he's leaning forward, pressing his lips to mine. I'm too shocked to move as he kisses me. Through the surprise, I can feel half of me wanting more, and the other half screaming at me to stop this. I don't have enough time to think through what I should do before he breaks away, and quickly walks towards one of the smirking peacekeepers who readily leads him out.

My face is burning as I look down in shame, in delight. I can hear one of the peacekeepers whispering to his coworker.

"_This will make for a good show," _the first one says.

"_Yeah, remember the last two love birds that came in here? The girl died trying to save her boyfriend, when she could have easily won herself," _the other one replies. They walk off before I can hear the rest of the conversation. The person they're talking about sounds familiar. It's on the tip of my tongue, but I loose the thought as one of them call my name. 'Fifteen minutes has gone by already?' I say quietly to myself. I must have been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't notice the time flying by. I follow the same peacekeeper that lead Assaf away into the room where I will be demonstrating what I can do.

I walk in to find a fairly large amount of people drunk beyond coherency sitting in a viewing area. Wrapped around them is a force field for protection. I can tell by the ripples every so often placed in the field. A few of the game makers are stuffing themselves silly, and pay me no attention as I walk to the archery station to grab the bow I was using earlier. It's design is simple. A long bow generously dipped in jet black paint. It's only extra design were the swirls around where the draw string connected to the bow. I pull the string back, testing it quickly, then grab the matching quiver, and go to a starting line. I start by just shooting at a few target, but I quickly see Sollel's point as they continue with what they were doing before I came in, so I sling my bow over my shoulder and walk towards another station. It's not really a station, its just where they store the extra targets. I grab a dozen or so disks and a launcher specifically made for archery, and go back over to my starting position. I place the launcher beside me, and press the launch button with my foot to send the first disk into the air in front of me. I quickly pull back an arrow, and release the string. In an instant, the disk is in pieces on the ground.

I'm rewarded with a few glances from the game makers as I continue. As I release each of my arrows at the disks, more seem to look towards me. I release my last arrow as the head game maker, Aquila Posh, stands up and thanks me for my time. A peacekeeper is shoving me towards an elevator. I'm pretty sure that I didn't do enough, and it wasn't that theatrical, but it was enough to at least turn a few heads.

The elevator doors open, and there, Assaf, Juni, and Sollel engulf me with questions of "How did it go?" "What did you do?" "Did they look at you?" among others questions. I decide to answer Juni's first to get her off my back.

"It went well," I began. "They bearly paid me any attention, but I turned a few heads."

"Do you think you did well?" Assaf asks.

"For the most part, yeah," I say. He nods and smiles, and I'm reminded of how he kissed me earlier. I look away almost too fast, and jump into Sollel's question.

"I shot my bow," I say.

"Did you spice it up?" she asked.

"Not really, but I did enough."

"What exactly did you do then?" she demanded. I didn't feel like telling her really.

"It was my private session," I tell her, walking over to a set of food laid out for lunch. Sollel sighs.

"What did you do, then, Assaf?" she asks.

"Not much. I did some sparring with an avox, and that was pretty much it," he says.

"You guys are useless," she says, sitting down in front of the TV. I don't pay her any attention as grab a grilled cheese sandwich and pour myself a bowl of tomato soup. It's a small lunch compared to my breakfast, but I'm not that hungry.

After I finish, I change into something more comfortable, a pink tank top and some pants, then come back out to watch whatever's on. They're replaying the chariot rides currently, every so often cutting to reporters or commentators in the crowd. I see myself hunched over in pain right before they arrive in the city circle. I get back up, and they go back to the rest of the chariots.

I don't feel like watching the rest of them, so I slip back into my room. I'm feeling awfully tired all of a sudden so I lay down for a quick nap. It seems like I just closed my eyes when Assaf comes in.

"Are you okay?" he says.

"Yeah," I mumble. He sits down on a couch across from my bed. I want nothing more for him to leave, considering the fact that I'm still sorting out what happened earlier.

"Oh. So, um, about earlier," he begins. "I didn't mean to kiss you, exactly. Sorry if you didn't expect that." I have no idea what to say to that so I stay silent. I do sit up and meet his eyes. He looks down, and I know I should say something to comfort him. I don't like seeing him so… vulnerable? That's the only word that comes to mind.

"It's okay," is all I can muster though. It makes him smile at least.

**I feel like I'm slowly improving with each chapter I write. Please feel free to review!**


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